VICTORVILLE — As the FBI revs up efforts to educate the public on the dangers of pointing handheld lasers at aircraft, a San Bernardino County prosecutor on Thursday said a local woman’s sentence of two years probation for the crime was based on a myriad of factors.

Jenny Gutierrez, now 20, was 19 years old on the night of Feb. 27 when she pointed a laser at a sheriff’s helicopter as it patrolled the High Desert over Interstate 15, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s officials said.

According to authorities at the time, the beam struck the helicopter “multiple times,” temporarily blinding the pilot and flight officer in the process.

Gutierrez was charged April 3 with a felony count of discharging a laser at an aircraft. But that charge was later dropped to a misdemeanor after Gutierrez entered into a plea bargain June 10.

In exchange for a no-contest plea, she was sentenced to two years probation, ordered to perform 80 hours in a work-sentence program and given a day in jail simultaneously nullified by a one-day credit, according to court records.

She was also ordered to pay $225 in restitution, court records show.

Deputy District Attorney Bryan Stodghill, who prosecuted the case, said Gutierrez didn’t realize the potential impact of her actions.

“This was kind of an incident in which she was out with her boyfriend and discharged it for seconds,” Stodghill said. “It was really, really brief.”

It was also “unintentional,” since she wasn’t trying to distract or blind the helicopter crew, he said.

Stodghill said the DA’s office took into consideration her age, clean prior criminal record and interviews with the crew and sheriff’s officials when deciding on an appropriate punishment.

Earlier this month, the FBI launched a campaign in hopes of deterring would-be offenders. The campaign will place public safety messages during movie previews and is offering rewards of $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of anyone who threatens aircraft in a laser attack.

The effort builds on a pilot program launched in February in a dozen cities, including Chicago, Houston, New York, Phoenix and Washington.

Federal officials said the deliberate targeting of planes by people with handheld lasers has increased significantly in recent years. In 2005, when the FBI and Federal Aviation Administration began tracking such crimes, fewer than 300 laser attacks occurred. By last year, that number had increased to nearly 4,000, according to the FAA.

Stodghill, who has been with the District Attorney’s office for close to 10 years, said he was aware of the crime’s rise in frequency — either from other attorneys or through the grapevine — despite having seldom experienced it himself in court.

“This is the first one I’ve seen in a long time,” he said.

The issue is prevalent enough to have triggered a step-up in enforcement in recent years.

The FBI announced in 2012 that a criminal conviction for pointing a laser at an aircraft could result in up to five years in prison. Civil penalties can reach $250,000 from the FBI and $11,000 from the FAA.

But as shown in another recent case, sentencing terms can be far less severe.

In April 2013, Jack Ries, of Lucerne Valley, was sentenced to 60 days in county jail and three years of supervised probation after entering into a plea bargain where he pleaded guilty to the felony charge, court records show.

Also ordered to pay $280 in restitution, Ries was arrested for pointing a laser at a sheriff’s helicopter. When the pilots were able to pinpoint the origin of the green laser, deputies contacted Ries at his home and found the laser pointer hidden inside a heating vent, according to previous reports.

Yet, sentencing terms can be quite harsh too, relying heavily on factors specific to each case.

In March, a 26-year-old man was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for pointing a laser that was 13 times more powerful than a common laser at a Fresno police helicopter, according to CBS San Francisco.

The news outlet reported prosecutors said Sergio Patrick Rodriguez, of Clovis, also had a lengthy criminal history, several probation violations and gang affiliations.